Star India batters Rishabh Pant, Kishan, Shubman Gill and many more players are set to feature in the Duleep Trophy 2024-25 season
Our Bureau
Mumbai
Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina said that Bangladesh cannot be taken lightly as the Asian side has a fine bowling attack as India prepares, adding that this series will be a practice match ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Raina was speaking at a Legends League Cricket (LLC) event in Delhi on Thursday.
Raina said, “Now, a team for Tests will be formed. Top players playing Duleep Trophy is a nice initiative by the BCCI. You get to know a lot of things when you play red-ball cricket.”
“You cannot take Bangladesh lightly as they have a fine spin bowling attack and some good players who have done well for a long time. This series will be a fine match practice for the tour to Australia,” he added.
The Duleep Trophy, which marks the beginning of red-ball cricket in the domestic season, will feature top Indian stars from the international circuit and emerging talents competing at the highest level. The tournament is set to begin on September 5, 2024, in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh and M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
Star India batters Rishabh Pant, Kishan, Shubman Gill and many more players are set to feature in the Duleep Trophy 2024-25 season.
Also, India will be playing a two-match series against Bangladesh at home from September 19 to October 1, in which Bangladesh spinners like Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahedi Hasan etc could feature. The squad for the Indian tour has not been announced yet.
This will be followed by a three-match test series against New Zealand from October 16 to November 5. These two series’ will pave India’s preparation for the Border Gavaskar Trophy later this year.
Speaking on Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant’s ICC T20 World Cup campaign, Raina lauded Pant for his “passion, hard work, mentality and great determination”.
“The way he practises, he is doing very good wicket-keeping, he has batted very well and when you win the World Cup you know how much fun it is,” added Raina.
Pant was the third-highest run-getter for India in their T20 World Cup triumph. He amassed 171 runs at an average of 24.42 in eight matches and also contributed with his skills behind the stumps with 14 dismissals, the most by a wicketkeeper in a single T20 WC edition. His influential performances helped India end their 13-year-long ICC World Cup drought.
LSG announce Zaheer Khan as mentor for next IPL season
The Lucknow Super Giants (IPL)owner Sanjiv Goenka on Wednesday opened up on the speculation of franchise skipper KL Rahul leaving the team ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. LSG unveiled former India seamer Zaheer Khan as the mentor of the franchise for the upcoming 2025 season of the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.
Zaheer will fill in the shoes of Gautam Gambhir, who left the role of LSG’s mentor after IPL 2023. Gambhir took up the role of team mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders side that lifted the IPL 2024 title. Speaking to the media in Kolkata alongside newly unveiled mentor Zaheer, Goenka said all decisions are medium-term and need to be thought of carefully.
“When you have a mega auction, you are bound to have a reset. But you try and maintain as much of the core as possible. The coach Justin Langer continues, [support staff] Lance Klusener and Jonty Rhodes will also be there. So, it is a question of improving and going further from where you are now,” he said.
The LSG owner said he has been meeting KL Rahul regularly.
“I have been meeting KL on and off regularly over the last three years. I am surprised this meeting is getting a lot of attention [in the media]. He is integral [to LSG]. He has been here since the inception. For me personally and for [my son] Shashwat [Goenka, who is also involved in running LSG], he is like family,” Goenka added.
In this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, KL Rahul attracted some criticism for his strike rate despite finishing among the top 10 run-getters, with 520 runs in 14 matches at an average of 37.14, with four fifties.
During his playing career, Zaheer represented Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils in the IPL. He played 100 matches in the IPL and bagged 102 wickets at an economy rate of 7.59.
